"Mom, you're here~"

Helena stood up and ran toward the door.

"Yes," Claudia responded lightly.

Helena took her hand and said as they walked, "Mom, let me introduce them to you. These two are Noa's parents."

Seeing Claudia approaching, the couple also rose from their chairs.

"Hello, I’m Helena's mother, Claudia Poseidon."

The blue-haired, elegant woman’s voice was calm and cool.

It reminded Leon of Roswitha, back before she became the mother to three children. At that time, the dragon queen had also been distant and unapproachable like this.

Even though Claudia’s words were polite, there was an undertone of aloof detachment.

"Hello, Ms. Claudia. I'm Noa's mother, Roswitha Melkevi."

Compared to Claudia's tone, Roswitha's tone carried a touch of more warmth.

Although it was still not too energetic.

Even though the long-mysterious "Treasure Chest Lady," Claudia, who had perplexed her and Leon for so long, now stood right before her, Roswitha did not let her inner excitement or joy show.

As a queen who had reigned for fifty years, Roswitha had mastered many social techniques.

Exposing one’s eagerness or motives too early often handed the upper hand to the other party.

Although she and Leon weren’t in any adversarial relationship with this Claudia, in their initial encounter, some mild strategic maneuvering felt necessary.

"The Silver Dragon Queen. I’ve long heard of your reputation, Ms. Melkevi."

From the perspective of the Dragon Clan’s understanding of age, referring to the barely two-hundred-year-old Roswitha as "Ms" was entirely appropriate.

Claudia then slowly shifted her gaze toward Leon.

Interestingly, before entering the room, she had spent the most time scrutinizing Leon. But once inside, she took her time before acknowledging him.

If Roswitha understood the subtleties of first encounters, then Claudia, who had lived even longer, clearly mastered them as well.

Noticing her gaze fall on him, Leon spoke up proactively.

"Hello, I am Little Ros’s husband, Leon Casmode."

Hearing this, Roswitha raised a brow slightly.

Usually, Leon called her "Mother Dragon," "Little Coquettish Dragon," or half-heartedly "Darling" or "Wife."

Hearing him suddenly refer to her as "Little Ros" felt rather rare.

After all, only members of the Melkevi family addressed Roswitha as "Little Ros."

Because excluding the third generation like Noa, Roswitha was actually the youngest in the family. A nickname that clashed slightly with her cold exterior wasn’t entirely unexpected.

Surprisingly, Roswitha wasn’t opposed to Leon suddenly calling her "Little Ros."

She might even be... a little happy about it?

Roswitha shook her head, stopping her thoughts from wandering too far.

After brief pleasantries, Claudia took a seat.

Helena handed her a script as well.

Claudia flipped through it briefly, gave a slight nod, and remarked, "It’s quite well-done, Helena."

Praised by her mother, the little sea dragon wagged her tail proudly.

"And what about the other members of your group?" Claudia asked as she put the script down.

"They’re preparing the props and costumes. They’ll be back soon," Helena replied.

"Alright. If there’s a similar event next time, make sure to prepare earlier," Claudia said.

"Yes, Mom."

The couple exchanged a glance while watching the mother-daughter interaction. For a moment, the scene reminded them of *General Leon's Early Parenting Philosophy in Raising --- for the Silver Dragon Queen*.

Many years ago, when Roswitha was new to motherhood and unsure how to interact with her daughters, she had been much like Claudia—always chatting with Noa and Muen with a stern face.

Even small matters were addressed with strict corrections.

The daughters had grown accustomed to it, and Roswitha hadn’t thought there was anything wrong with her approach to parenting.

That changed after the day Leon woke from a two-year coma and introduced human parenting philosophies to their family life.

Roswitha had initially resisted the change.

But as she watched her daughters become more cheerful and cling more to her, she quickly found herself saying, "Fine, I’ll admit it works."

Living in such a harmonious family for so long had made Roswitha somewhat forgetful of what traditional Dragon Clan families were like.

Today, Claudia had reminded her.

Roswitha didn’t offer any comment on the matter.

Every family had its way of bonding, and as an outsider, hers was not to judge.

As she was pondering this, Leon tapped her hand lightly. She glanced over.

Then the couple began a silent exchange via their shared mental connection.

Leon: **"Doesn’t this scene feel oddly familiar to you?"**

Roswitha: **"I know what you’re implying. I've already changed a lot, alright?"**

Leon: **"Oh, I see. Alright, then. By the way, Claudia seems like a leader. Could she be a noblewoman in the Sea Dragon Clan?"**

Roswitha: **"Of course. Poseidon is a royal surname in the Sea Dragon Clan. It's quite prestigious."**

Leon: **"So... digging into her background isn’t going to be easy, huh?"**

Roswitha: **"I’m afraid so. We’ll need to weigh every question carefully—any misstep might lead to misunderstandings we’d rather avoid."**

Leon: **"Got it."**

Their private exchange ended.

Leon slowly turned to look at the mother-daughter duo.

Claudia was discussing specifics of the script with Helena.

"Helena, do you think this line truly captures the character’s inner feelings?"

"Which one, Mom?"

"‘I can’t live without you. Please, wake up.’"

Claudia pointed to a line in the script. "This comes near the end, but throughout the two-hour play, the protagonists never openly express their feelings for each other."

"Even though the audience can sense their love through the dramatic twists and turns, these are like the ‘gunpowder’ inside a bomb."

"To ignite this bomb in the climax, you need a fuse."

"And this crucial line is that fuse," she explained.

"You need to rethink how to frame one sentence that unleashes all the buildup and creates a heartfelt emotional resonance with the audience."

With that, Claudia handed the script back to Helena.

Helena accepted it with both hands. "Yes, Mom. I’ll revise it."

"Good. I believe you’ll come up with something better."

Witnessing this scene, Leon blinked in mild admiration. Claudia indeed had a knack for this, and her guidance came across as quite professional.

No wonder she had penned *Nine Hells Gate* and *Soul Judgment*. She clearly had the chops.

Her advice wasn’t overbearing either. Even as mere observers, Leon and Roswitha could sense Claudia's genuine attitude of seriousness in her calm tone.

To be fair, Claudia didn’t need to invest so much attention. This was just a play put together by a group of young dragon hatchlings—a bit amateurish flaws should’ve been expected.

Yet she treated it seriously. Even one single line of dialogue had to be thoughtfully reworked.

Leon couldn’t help but be reminded of his mentor's wife.

That gentle woman, who spoke in the softest tones yet always issued the firmest orders to Leon and his mentor.

A rough farm owner and a brat sent to a dragon-slaying academy at ten—that master-apprentice duo’s life could have been a chaotic mess.

But luckily, with her around, they ended up living a meticulous and orderly life.

She had cared for them well, which was why Leon's master was utterly devoted to her.

Leon glanced at Claudia.

From the moment she entered, this was his first time scrutinizing her features up close.

She was indeed beautiful (not as much as Roswitha, though), but something about her seemed uncannily familiar.

Leon recalled how, in the future, when he first saw a photograph of Claudia, he’d had the same sense of familiarity.

Yet he couldn’t place where he might have seen her before—or who she resembled.

He ruffled his hair, thinking to himself. He wasn’t the type of men who would randomly claim he’d seen a pretty woman before as a clumsy pickup line—

Even though Aurora had accused him of that in the future, that was just a misunderstanding.

As he mulled this over, a lively sound of footsteps echoed from the door.

Everyone turned towards the noise.

The little dragon girls, carrying a pile of props and costumes, marched neatly into the classroom.

"Wow, everyone’s here," Noa said, setting down her props. She looked at Claudia.

"Good afternoon, Aunt Claudia~ I’m Helena’s classmate and roommate, Noa K. Melkevi."

Claudia offered a slight smile and nodded. "Hello, Noa."

"Good afternoon, Aunt Claudia. My name is Muen. I’m Noa’s younger sister."

"A lovely name. It means ‘moon,’ doesn’t it? Hello, little Muen."

"And me! I’m Aurora! Auntie, hug me—"

"Hey baby, that’s not allowed!"

Leon promptly intercepted his youngest daughter.

If Aurora’s uppercut was triggered here, they could forget ever getting any information out of Claudia.

Aurora blinked her big eyes in confusion.

Leon quickly explained, "That wouldn’t be polite, Aurora."

"Fine," Aurora said, nodding obediently.

Alas, she couldn’t unlock the achievement of "Winning Over Every Beautiful Aunt Immediately." A rare blemish on the otherwise bright career of young Aurora.

After introducing herself, Noa clapped her hands.

"Alright, everyone, since we're all here, let's officially start the rehearsal~"